By Lucky Chance
by Havenhand
Summary: As Hagrid is ill, Severus has been chosen to visit the new Muggleborn witches and wizards. What happens when he goes to the Dursleys? First Year AU, with mentions to harsher themes. Warnings and disclaimer inside.
1. Chapter 1

Hello, and welcome to my first ever fanfiction story. Please read and review!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story. If only.

Warnings: Mentions of child abuse, the aftermath of child abuse, violence and dirty language. Some OOC may happen, but I try not to. I'll update the warnings for each chapter.

Chapter 1 – Misconceptions and the Courage to Rectify Them.

Sometimes, Severus Snape would think about how Dumbledore's machinations and manipulations brought him nothing but misery and misfortune. It seemed to the headmaster, that he was nothing but a glorified errand boy.

The last month or so, he had done basically nothing but following up on unreplied and unopened letters by apparating to the dwellings of muggles, who were fortunate enough to have a magical child, and inform them of how wise it would be for them to send them to Hogwarts. It also seemed that today would be no different from the others. ' _When am I going to get time to research my ideas for new and ground-breaking Potions? And why didn't any of them return a letter to either confirm or deny the invitation of their child?!'_

Browsing through the meagre stack of letters he'd been given for today, he noticed the name of the boy, who would most likely be the child that would make the next seven years of his life a living hell; Harry James Potter. Forcing his eyes further down the letter, he noticed something peculiar about the address. It was protected from magic?

He would have to make a double check of the archives in the Headmaster's office, to see if the address was different for the first few dozens of letters sent to that pampered brat. With a flurry of movement, he stalked over to the fireplace in his sitting room, grabbed a handful of floo powder from the small jar on the mantel above it, threw it in the fireplace, and yelled, "Dumbledore's office!"

-:SSHP:-

Harry potter was a very confused kid these days. He was sure that there was magic in this world, he knew it!

Weird things kept happening all around him, wherever he went, like for example, last month when the Dursleys had taken him and his cousin to the zoo, he had somehow had a conversation with a boa constrictor, and made it change places with Dudley! Afterwards, of course, he'd received the beating of his life. He still had sores from the lashes, his uncle had used the buckle this time. He was also pretty sure that one or two of his ribs were at least bruised, of not broken. With a sigh, he got up from the cot on the floor inside the cupboard. They were going to start packing to move away today, or at least that's what uncle Vernon had yelled yesterday, when what seemed like a thousand letters, all addressed to Harry, mind you, had forcefully made their way into the house on Privet Drive.

When the letters had first arrived, addressed to Harry Potter, The Cupboard Under the Stairs, Number 4, Privet Drive, Surrey, England, the Dursleys thought people were watching them, and they had moved Harry to Dudley's second bedroom, which resulted in a drastic increase in temper tantrums from the whale, that Harry barely ever addressed as a human, much less his cousin. Well, good things never last, and after a night of spectacularly loud screams from Harry, as a result from him having nightmares, they kicked him out of his new room and threw him back into the cupboard. Not before getting what seemed like a dozen kicks to his abdomen, back and head, though. Sometimes, Harry wondered if he sustained permanent damage from their treatment, but he could never be sure. He was so used to the constant pain, that he had forgotten how it was like to be without aches around his body, be it from beatings, or from overwork doing his chores.

 _'Well, at least they thought it fit to unlock the cupboard door,_ Harry thought. _It wouldn't do well if I didn't get breakfast done in time. It's not like a locked door is any excuse to not have it done,'_ Harry added to himself wistfully. He could still remember the last time they forgot to unlock it before they went to bed. That was the last time they broke his tibia. They hadn't even taken him to the hospital until his left leg started to swell. Luckily, the doctors who saw to him didn't notice how they could see his ribs. Otherwise, the beatings would've gotten much worse when they got back home, and he would've probably had to go get it recast.

Getting started with breakfast, Harry hummed a tune he had overheard in the radio, inside his head. The last time he had hummed out loud, he was around five years old. He'd received a punch to his mouth, that had not only made three milk teeth fall out, but he'd also split his upper lip, which now held a faint scar. ' _That was just one more to the grand collection,'_ Harry thought, thinking bad to that day. Now he didn't feel like humming any more.

–:HPSS:-

Looking through the archives, Severus quickly noticed the incredibly large section of copies of unopened letters to Harry James Potter. While the letters were charmed to multiply in numbers for each day passing that they didn't get received, the archive at Hogwarts only had one copy per sending, likely to avoid problems with a case like this. With a heavy sigh, he grabbed the oldest letter in the bunch, and set off to find the blasted brat, so he could shake him and tell him what's what.

While stalking through the grounds, he had an afterthought. ' _Maybe I should wait with the brat until I've talked to this Granger girl, I'm far too angry to deal with the brat now, and while I hate his pampered guts, I'm fairly sure I'm not supposed to kill him.'_ It was with that mindset that he went to see a Hermione Granger, ' _Seriously, who names their child HERMIONE?!,'_ and a Travis Ford.

It was just after 10 o'clock that Severus found himself outside of Number 4, Privet Drive.

With his face set into a sneer, he noticed how all the houses had the same well-groomed hedges, and how every house had the same type and make of car. It was enough to make his skin crawl, he felt like he was in the twilight zone.

Before he could change his mind, his feet moved him up the perfectly paved driveway, and he rang the door bell.

Trying to imagine how Potter's relatives looked like was an amusing little game that he had for the 20 seconds it took for someone to answer the door. The sight that met him, made him raise his eyebrows in surprise.

"Who are you?!", was the indignant squeal from the talking whale, that filled almost the entire door frame. Had they really fed him so much, that Potter had become obese? ' _No, that couldn't be right, it's virtually impossible for the average wizard to become THAT rotund,'_ Severus thought with horror.

"I am Severus Snape, I have business to discuss with Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, are they home at the moment?"

Getting the message, the whale turned around and yelled, "Mom! Dad! There's a weirdo at the door, he wants to speak with you!" After yelling at his parents, the whale turned around and looked at Severus with a look that conveyed something akin to fearful disdain, before he fled up the stairs at an incredible speed.

From further into the house, Severus could clearly hear what seemed like an angry elephant charging towards the door, and lo and behold! The sire of the baby whale was standing in the door, red faced and panting, and with what seemed like a tiny piece of bacon on his chin. They were obviously in the middle of breakfast. As soon as The man-beast in front of him caught sight of his dour, but clearly magic-y appearance, his face turned into the unhealthy shade of purple.

"We don't want your kind here, go away or we'll call the cops!" he said with panic in his voice.

Before he could slam the door closed, though, Severus jammed his foot in the way so the door couldn't close. He withdrew his wand from his forearm holster, and stuck it at the Dursley matriarch's wobbly tripple chin.

"You're going to let me in right now, or I'm going to force my way in, and you're not going to like the outcome", Severus said in a deadly low voice. "Now, move it!"

The subdued beast quickly stepped away from the door and away from the wand's trajectory, allowing Severus to enter the too neat house. He then waved the dour man into the living room, where he was told to sit on the couch. As Severus sat down on the couch, it creaked audibly, and he dipped down a further 20 cm., as if someone heavy sat there often. Severus scowled at this, but said nothing.

He instead watched Mr. Dursley while he was calling his wife into the room, and then proceeded to sit down in the chair at the opposite side of the sofa table. The chair looked like it could break at any moment, and Severus briefly wondered if he should ask to switch places, if only to save the chair from the cheer weight of its current tormentor. After much thought, he decided against it. He could use a good laugh once in a while.

Mentally shaking his head to escape his amusing thoughts, he asked Mr. Dursley;

"So I'm guessing you know why I am here?"

"I don't care, as long as you leave as soon as possible! You _freaks_ are not welcome here!" Dursley exclaimed like a petulant child.

"I see where your overgrown spawn got his manners from." Ignoring Dursley's violent outburst, he calmly continued. "I'm here to ask why the spoiled brat hasn't answered his Hogwarts letter yet. He was due to answer weeks ago."

His calm outside seemed to further drive the other man's facial colour into an even deeper shade of purple, before he answered with, "He's not going! We promised he wouldn't when we got him! He's not going to be like those freaky parents of his! We resolved to beat the freakiness out of him, to turn him normal if it was possible!"

Severus paled by several shades while he was listening to Mr. Dursley's insane rant about Harry, his parents and his treatment, his eyebrows inching closer and closer to his hairline. By the end of the angry man's tirade, he breathlessly said "You will let me see the child now, you fool!"

By then, Petunia Dursley entered the sitting room, looking sternly at her strange guest. ' _Lily's horsefaced sister doesn't even recognise me. I wonder if she's still distracted by whatever was going on in that kitchen of theirs when I stepped inside,'_ he thought, panic rising in his mind.

Severus stood up, and forcefully strode out of the room, down the hallway, and into the kitchen. He was momentarily stunned by the sight that greeted him.

–:SSHP:-

After he had served breakfast, Harry was again released from the cupboard to go clean up the dishes. Sadly, he realised that the Dursleys hadn't left even a tiny scrap of leftovers. ' _I even cooked more bacon than usual, they must be doing this on purpose,'_ Harry thought angrily. There was no way he would get breakfast now. He couldn't turn on the stove again without them realising what was going on, so he started to tentatively clean the used plates, he hadn't notice that the big frying pan was missing. Because he was lost in his wistful thoughts, he didn't notice that his aunt had sneaked up behind him. The next thing he knew, the doorbell rang, and when he looked towards the main door through the kitchen door, he flinched as he noticed that aunt Petunia was standing right behind him, frying pan raised above her head. He silently launched a pleading look at her, and it seemed to be working, as she slowly lowered the frying pan.

She bent down until her head was the same height as his, and then hissed "Stay here and be quiet, freak, and you may stay alive until tomorrow!"

Frightened beyond belief, Harry fled to the corner of the tabletops, where he was not visible from the doorway. Petunia seemed to be satisfied, because she nodded with sadistic glee in his direction, and went into the living room, where she'd heard her husband call for her.

-:HPSS:-

It was in this shaking foetal position that Severus found the boy in a few minutes later. Initially, he had no idea what to do, but after a few deep breaths, and reciting the needed ingredients for the Wolfsbane Elixir in chronological order, and then the other way around.

Well, aside from the whales' reaction to Severus and his questions, there were tell-tale signs of abuse, both mental, physical and several types of neglect. The boy was too thin, and it seemed his malnutrition had stunted his growth. His hair was scraggly and greasy, as if he was never washed with soap. After a few moments of just standing there perusing the boy and seeing that the situation didn't change, he decided that he would try to talk to him.

"Harry?" He said softly, crouching down on one knee. The boy didn't react.

"Harry, can you hear me?", he tried again. The boy seemed to understand that he was being addressed, because he tentatively looked up at him.

"Are you talking to me, sir?" the boy asked even softer. It seemed as if he was afraid of anyone bigger than himself.

"Yes, Harry. I'm here to take you away from the bad people," Severus answered. He thought that his brain would start to shrink and his clothes somehow colour themselves pink, talking to a child like that. He felt bad about his last thought, but he immediately stopped thinking negative thoughts, when the boy looked up at him even more scared than before.

"How do I trust you?" Harry asked, somewhat louder than before, it was almost like this was shouting, according to his standards.

Severus immediately warded the room against the three malevolent muggles, who'd appeared in the doorway, with a flick of his wrist. Then he brandished his wand, pointed it at Harry's head, and quietly said "Legilimens."

It was a weird feeling to keep from perusing the memories contained in the mind he had just entered. Instead, he tugged at Harry's consciousness, and pulled him inside of his own mind.

-:SSHP:-

Harry didn't have any idea what was going on; one second he was staring at a stick that the stranger had pointed at his head, the next second he was sucked into what he thought was his mind. " _Is this magic?!,"_ Harry thought wondrously.

" _That it is, Harry,"_ Severus answered inside his head.

" _How can you hear me?",_ Harry asked the other presence.

" _Our minds are connected, for the time being,"_ Severus said. _"This is very powerful magic, Harry. I'll show you a few memories from my own childhood and from my time at Hogwarts. If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask them. I will never harm you, I promise. Although, after a while, your head will start to hurt. Please tell me when that happens. Are you ready to begin?"_

Harry was wondering why he didn't have an existential crisis, so he chose to take it all in stride.

" _Let's go.",_ He said.

The scenery suddenly changed around him; Instead of the cosy darkness, they suddenly found themselves on a playground, in what Harry thought to be at least a decade back.

He could see two girls enjoying themselves on the swings, but one of them was swinging herself very high into the air.

When she jumped, Harry's heart skipped a beat, but the girl was not in danger at all; She seemed to be soaring through the sky in slow-motion, as if the very air around her protected her from falling too fast. _"This has to be magic, there's no doubt about it",_ Harry thought.

" _Quite right, Harry. She was using a home-made charm, not unlike the one that trained witches and wizards use to make objects or people float. This is the first time we met, your mother and I."_

Harry's eyes grew so big, he thought they were going to roll out of his skull. _"My mother? This girl is my mother? She seems so unlike me",_ Harry thought. For one thing, his mother seemed to have a happy childhood. He didn't have any more time to think, though, because a tiny, scrawny, black-haired kid was walking towards the two girls. He looked like the stranger beside him, and Harry suddenly realised, that he must be speaking the truth.

"That was magic!", the child exclaimed. "You're a witch!", he said, while pointing at her accusingly.

"I'm a WHAT?!", the red-haired girl answered indignantly, staring at the strange child in front of her.

"A witch", he repeated. "You know, a girl that can do magic". The girl looked disbelievingly at the tiny boy.

The other girl had gotten off her swing, and was approaching the boy angrily. "Leave my sister alone, boy!", she exclaimed. "My sister is special, but that's no reason to call her a witch!"

"I didn't mean it badly. It's what my mother calls other women and girls who can do magic. She told me that I'm a wizard. I can do magic too, you see, but my dad hates it. I'm not allowed to do it in the house." The boy looked morosely at the two girls. "I'm Severus, by the way. Severus snape. I live in that old house over there, on the corner." He pointed in the direction of an old, decrepit house.

Harry thought that that house couldn't possibly be fit to be lived in by people, but that was apparently where his stranger had grown up with his parents.

"I'm Lily, Lily Evans, and this is my sister, Petunia. Nice to meet you, Severus", the magical girl said. She reached out for the hand of the boy, and he took it.

-:HPSS:-

Severus stopped the viewing of the memory as he noticed that Harry wasn't doing so well. He pushed Harry's mind back into his own head and cut the connection.

"Harry, are you all right?", Severus asked the boy, when he found him panting on the kitchen floor. The boy looked positively ill; He was pale, and sweating profusely in his too large clothes. Not expecting an answer, he picked up the boy and carried him away from the kitchen.

As an afterthought, he removed the ward he set up earlier to prevent the boy's so-called family from entering.

He found the muggles huddled up in the sitting room; They flinched when he entered, carrying the boy in his arms. ' _Harry is way too light for a boy his age. We'll have to rectify that later. Right now I just need to fetch his belongings and get out of this hell-hole,'_ Severus thought angrily.

"Where's the boy's belongings?", Severus asked the horse faced woman. She eyed him with a hateful look in her eyes. ' _So she finally recognises me. Well, she was never really known for intelligence.'_

"In the cupboard, freak", she said after a few moments. As she said it, Harry whimpered slightly. Even though the boy seemed unconscious, she still had a hold over him.

Severus went to open the cupboard, and he was met with a foul stench as he crouched down. As he tried to put Harry down on the ground, Harry whimpered even more, and grabbed the front of Severus' robes with a death grip. ' _Change of plans, then,'_ Severus thought. He reached into one of his outer pockets and produced an empty vial, and transfigured it into a shoulder bag with a wave of his wand. With another wave, he incanted "Accio Harry's belongings!", and help up the bag as the items flew out of the closet with notable speed.

Feeling that his work was done, he promptly apparated to The Leaky Cauldron in London with the tiny boy in his arms.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello, and welcome to chapter 2 in my first attempt at fanfiction!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these puppets I'm puppeteering around, except for the odd original characters I'll bring in now and then. I'll tell you when in these comments, though!

Warnings: Slight mention of child abuse.

The first chapter was so long ago, and it's been a rough going to finish this one. The christmas months are especially stressful for me, and I've been too busy to write. I'm not making any excuses, but since I like to know what the authors of the stories I follow are up to in general, I'll try not to be a hypocrite. Normally, I'd be sorry to make the story stagnate for so long, but I really haven't had the time to do research and stuff like that. In any case, I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 2 - Shedding Those Shackles.

"So my parents really didn't die in a car crash?" Harry was so confused, it was one of the only things the Dursleys had told him about his parents. That, and that they were drunkards and useless layabouts.

"Do you by any chance think that what I told you for these past 20 minutes was a fairytale? No. Your parents died to save your life, because they loved you more than themselves, even more than each other," Severus answered tersely. He then added; "So now that I have corrected that misconception, are you going to bombard me with any more questions before we enter Diagonal Alley for the things you'll need for school?"

They were sitting at an out of the way table in the Leaky Cauldron, eating lunch underneath a Silencing Charm and a Notice-Me-Not Charm. They were more or less finished with their sandwiches. Harry seemed to have a much better appetite, now that most of his injuries were healed. Somehow, he would figure out what the professor had done to heal them, but those questions could wait.

Harry thought about it for a few moments. "What did you do to me in the kitchen? It felt like you entered my head or something."

Severus looked seriously into Harry's eyes for a few seconds before answering. "I used Legilimency on you, Harry. It's mind magic designed to enter the mind of someone else and read their thoughts and peruse their memories."

At Harry's incredulous expression, he hastily added; "But the way I used it was to connect our minds, and then I pulled you into my mind. Since my mind is stronger than yours, due to decades of training, I controlled what we were watching. I know that it was a very roundabout way of at least get you to listen to me, but it didn't look like you were going to listen to me if I was just speaking to you. I could be anyone."

"You still could, though," Harry added shrewdly.

"It's nearly impossible to alter memories, and even the most green of novices would be able to tell the signs. I am aware that I may not look like the most trustworthy man, Harry, but please listen to me. There are dark forces rising once more, and the man who killed your parents may not have died the way that the public believes. When we enter the Alley, it is of utmost importance that you stick close to me. There shouldn't be that many people around yet, as most students go with their parents in the last week before the first of September. That's when the train to the school leaves. I digress. When we get to the Alley, we need to go to the far end, to the bank of Gringotts. There, we will withdraw money from your vault, and possibly talk with the goblin that has to do with your family, about your situation with the Dursleys. You can't go back there.

"Wait, sir, why should I have a vault in the bank? I've never been there before!", Harry said, panicking. "I didn't even know this place existed." _Wait, goblins? Is that some weird slang for a bank worker or something?_

"Your family created a trust fond for you when you were born, in case they met an untimely end before you were of age, Harry," Severus explained. "By now, it should have grown to a remarkable size."

Harry's eyes grew to the size of tea cups. "I have money? I actually have my own money?! Why wasn't I told of this before?" By the end of his tiny rant, Harry was seething with incredulity, _'Why wasn't I told, and why have I been living with those so-called relatives, if I'm a wizard?'_

The older man eyed him with _that_ look. Before explaining; "Usually, it's the headmaster of the school that the child is enrolled to that gets the magical part of the guardianship over the child, if there are no magical relatives available to take care of the child in question. As far as I know, your parents left no will, but we'll need to check that at Gringotts as well. Your magical guardian is the one who takes care of your economy, as well as your well-being. The fact that Albus left you at the Dursleys' house to get neglected and abused without even checking up on you, leads me to believe that the wards protecting you were faulty, if not broken."

Professor Snape, as he had insisted that Harry call him, had already explained the bit about his mother's sacrifice, and the after effects that they thought it had on Harry's protection. Wards were difficult to grasp, even though the professor had explained it as simply as he could. _Maybe there's a book store in the Alley, where I can buy some books on the subject, as well as on the magical world. It's kind of scary that I don't know anything,_ Harry thought. He wanted to know everything he could about this world he was entering, and the dour man seemed like he didn't want to baby him with his millions of questions.

-:HPSS:-

After another 30 minutes of talking and answering questions, they were finally ready to leave the Leaky Cauldron for the Alley. Going out back, making sure that Harry was still following him, he refreshed the Notice-Me-Not Charm on him. Tapping the bricks in the correct way with his wand, they waited for the archway to appear. Severus looked down on his protégé, not surprised at the completely flabbergasted look that was plastered on the boy's face.

With more than a little amount of amusement fluttering in his throat, Severus said; "Welcome, Harry, to Diagon Alley. Now, stick close to me, we'll look at the shops after we've withdrawn your money."

After what seemed like an hour of dragging Harry past the shop windows, they finally arrived at Gringotts. It appeared as if the hilariously surprised look on Harry was becoming a permanent feature of his face, but Severus didn't mind. _Perhaps there is still time to mend the boy,_ he thought. _As long as that meddlesome fool of a headmaster doesn't insist on me returning Harry to his so-called family._

They entered the main hall of the bank and approached the first available goblin. The goblin looked at Severus expectantly, as if goading him to make the first move.

"Mr. Potter would like to speak with the goblin in charge of his family's affairs", Severus said politely.

"And is Mr. Potter willing to prove that he is who he is, with a drop of blood?", the goblin answered, eyeing Harry with suspicion.

"Yes he is", Severus answered. He looked at Harry, as if to say 'everything is going to be okay, just do this'.

Harry nodded meekly, and Severus gently took his left wrist and presented it to the goblin. The goblin then grabbed Harry's hand and with a tiny knife, he cut along the tip of the index finger.

With a soft yelp, Harry drew back his hand, but to his surprise, the cut was nowhere to be seen. There was not even a faint scar.

"The goblins can craft magical weapons and tools with properties that humans can't even imagine. The knife you were cut with only takes a tiny blood and magic sample from a wizard, and the knife inscribes the name of the wizard upon its blade. Every wizard's magic is different and can't be faked, and the blood ensures that you have claim on your name."

"I think I understand", Harry answered. "So what does the blade say?"

The goblin flashed the knife, so that they could see the tiny letters on the blade; "Harry James Potter", it said.

Severus noticed the obvious display of relief on Harry's face, and swore that he'd ask him about it later.

"Come this way, please", the goblin said, and they followed him away from the main hall, and down a hallway.

After a few minutes of walking, a door on their right-hand side opened up, and they entered.

Inside was the most opulent room that they had ever seen. For once, Severus let his mask slip just a tiny bit, and pure surprise was showing on his face; of course, Harry was no better, his jaw had practically hit the floor. They quickly pulled themselves together, though, and noticed an aged goblin sit behind a grand writing table directly in front of them. This goblin seemed amused at their display of surprise, and he didn't care about hiding it.

"Welcome to my office, I am Griphook, and I am going to serve you today", the goblin said politely, after the moment of mirth had passed.

"Thank you, Griphook, I am Severus Snape, and I represent Harry Potter today", Severus said, gesturing to the scrawny boy next to him. Harry muttered a soft "Hello", he was obviously too shy to talk with Griphook at the moment.

"For your politeness, you may sit", Griphook said, waving his hand in front of him, and two chairs appeared, matching the opulence of the rest of the room.

"Thank you, sir", Severus said and gracefully sat down. Harry followed suit, and rather clumsily did the same. The chair was a bit too tall for him, even though it was shorter than the one Severus himself sat on.

"I haven't been working with cases for a while, since I am only subscribed to the Potters and the Blacks, and for obvious reasons, neither family has been available to see me. Until now. Now, please tell me what matters you would speak to me about", Griphook said, in a matter-of-fact voice. Harry thought he sounded very businesslike.

"First of all, we would like to get an overview of Harry's accounts and vaults. After that, we'll need to take a look at the wills of Harry's parents, as I am sure they were not read. Last, but not least,we'll need to find a solution to Harry's living situation, as he can't stay where he is right now, with his remaining family."

Griphook looked at him for a moment, as if pondering how to go about his not-so-little task in front of him. This was going to take at least an hour, and he would need to file all of the paperwork himself, as he was the highest ranked goblin on duty today, so nobody else could take care of it for him.

Nodding his affirmative, he reached into his bottom drawer and pulled out two purple envelopes. "I will read the will of James Potter first, as any changes made by Lily Potter's will be binding. As you were both supposed to be invited to the original will reading, there wont be any problem about you being here as well, Mr. Snape. We discovered a heavily applied Confundus charm on several of our staff members, all of whom were supposed to schedule the original reading. As it was removed last month, we agreed to write to Albus Dumbledore, the current guardian of Mr. Potter."

Severus tensed visibly. "Someone cast a Confundus charm on the goblins of Gringotts? That's an outrage!"

"Yes. We have our best cursebreakers and forensic mages on the job to find out who cast it. Until then, would you let me continue?", Griphook answered sadly.

After a few seconds, Severus inclined his head.

Griphook sliced open one of the envelopes marked with 'James Potter' in intricate, gold lettering. Retrieving the aged parchment from the envelope, he started reading out loud; "I, James Harold Potter, hereby declare this my final will and testament. It will overrule any other wills I have written. I declare that I am of legal age and of sound mind. This last will expresses my wishes without undue influence or duress. I am married to Lily Potter nee Evans, hereafter referred to as Lily or my wife, and we have a son named Harry James Potter, hereafter referred to as Harry or our son. I bequeath the vast wealth of the Potter estate to my wife and our son. The contents of vault 352 will go to our son when he comes of age, or in the case that Lily and I are no longer able to provide for and protect him. An additional vault has been created, namely vault 687, and in it is a trust fond for our son, for when he has to buy school supplies. I want my son to know about his family's inherent magical talents at best convenience, in case that Lily and I are not there to talk to him about it. There are several tomes in vault 352 that will help him. In terms of his upbringing, should the worst happen to Lily and I, must he under no circumstance be placed with Lily's remaining relatives. This concludes my final will and testament."

 _Well, that was not surprising at all,_ thought Severus. _The Potters had always been very secretive about the inherent magic of their bloodline. It wouldn't be a surprise to anyone if they'd all been a special breed of Animagi, or something like it._

While Severus was silently thinking to himself, Griphook read Lily's testament.

"As Lily hasn't made a single change compared to James, except for adding an item to the will for Professor Severus Snape, I'll be distributing the items immediately. A letter for Professor Severus Snape, and the keys to the Potter vaults to Mr. Harry Potter."

As the boy accepted his keys with a mumbled 'thanks', Severus thought to tell him "Harry, don't ever give these keys to anyone, and watch them with vigilance. I wouldn't be surprised if only you could enter any of the vaults, but it wouldn't do to have them stolen, in any case."

The boy looked up apprehensively, as if heeding his warning, and said "Thank you, sir, I'll keep that in mind."

Griphook handed Severus the letter from Lily, and proceeded to deposit it in one of his warded inner pockets, so he could read it later.

"Now, for the next item on your list, I would suggest that Mr. Potter gets himself emancipated," Griphook said slowly. "It would require a sponsor, of sorts, due to his young age. I am deeply aware that many people would clamour for the rights to adopt The Boy Who Lived, and that's the reason behind my suggestion. This sponsor would be like a mentor to young Harry, teaching about how our society works, taxes, the ministry functions, and such. It would also be required of said sponsor to provide a place for him to stay until he comes of age." He turned to Harry. "Would you be willing to do this? It said in your parents' Wills that you would be authorised to the full contents of the vaults if they were to leave this plane of existence, but by becoming emancipated, you would have the full legal rights to them. If you don't want to risk someone contesting your rights to the vaults, and thus having to expose your parents' Wills to the rest of the world, it would be the best course of action."

The boy seemed to be pondering his situation for a long time, which surprised Severus. _It shouldn't have surprised me that the boy would be mature enough already, as to not just jump into the first and best solution. He might make it into Ravenclaw yet, or maybe even Slytherin!_ He could hardly contain his pleasure at the thought of Harry becoming one of his snakes, and settled for a slight up-turning of the edges of his mouth. He wasn't heartless, after all, no matter what the students of the other houses thought of him. He was pulled out of his reverie by the boy finally answering.

"What would happen to my mother's protection, if I were to be emancipated?", he asked.

"Your mother's protection was not functioning properly in the first place, Mr. Potter. If it were, your relatives would've never hurt you the way they did. Goblins have a sort of Second Sight that allows us to sense the Old Magicks like the one your mother cast on you, and I sensed it from when you entered the room. I'm surprised you even knew about it, to be frank. I'm confident that the old magic inside you would grow and flourish, much like a flower, if you were to separate all ties to people, who hold power towards you."

The goblin looked grim at the last admission, but he also had a hopeful glint in his eyes, Severus noticed.

"That settles it, then," the boy said with more confidence than he had shown all day. "Griphook, I want to become emancipated. How long do I have to find and convince a suitable sponsor?"

The goblin seemed to think about it for a few moments, then said: "You have a month to choose a sponsor. You can choose more than one, though. It all depends on how many different viewpoints you want, really. You just need to contact either me, or the current representative from the Department of Magical Children Affairs within the Ministry of Magic, when you have chosen. Please sign these papers, and we may move on to your vaults for inspection." He handed Harry the emancipation papers.

After Harry signed them, he said with an honest smile: "Very well, Mr. Potter, shall we go? Will Mr. Snape be joining us?"

"If he wants to," Harry replied while looking at his dark companion in curiosity...

–:SSHP:-

The long and exhilarating ride down the tracks hadn't taken the breath out of Harry at all, in fact he was invigorated. He looked at his future professor and exclaimed "We have to do this again! It was the best thing ever!"

Severus, looking worse for wear, looked at Harry as if he thought he was insane, but didn't comment on the energetic outburst.

Griphook ushered them onto the platform in front of vault 687, and while Harry looked around in childish wonder, he noticed that this part of the caverns looked much older than closer to the entrance. As they approached the entrance to the vault, Harry handed over the key. A few moments later, as the vault doors opened, Harry was silently wishing for more eyes.

There was so much gold, more than he had ever seen! Severus held out a moleskin money bag charmed with a Featherlight charm, and what he had explained was called 'Wizard Space', or something sounding like it. The charm would expand to allow for any amount of money inside, but would never appear bigger on the outside. At Severus' prompting, he withdrew around a thousand galleons, more than enough for everything they would need to buy.

Confirming with the counter on the lining by the opening, Severus nodded, closed the bag and handed it to Harry.

"Keep this as safe as the keys, Harry, We wouldn't want you to be a victim of pick-pocketers on your first day in the Alley, now, would we?" he said with a slight grin. Harry nodded, and put the bag into one of the front pockets on his too-big, hand-me-down jeans that he was currently wearing.

Next off was the other vault, and although the trip was much shorter this time, much to Severus' relief, it was still as exhilarating for Harry. He felt almost like a child again, a feeling he was unsure he had ever felt before. He silently swore to get more opportunities to feel like this.

The vault was built much more like a series of storage rooms than a money vault, and there were more things than Harry was sure he would ever get to use. The left side of the entrance chamber was filled with exhibit cases with various weapons that looked like they came for some sort of fantasy novel or another. The right side had tall shelves filled with furniture from what Harry was told was from the ancestral Potter family mansion, since it was gutted at the start of The Great War. All of the furniture, tapestries, portraits of family members, armoury and of course the library had been vaulted for safety measures.

Absently, Harry knew that his eyes were the size of tea cups, but he didn't care. This was what was left of his family, and it was all his. He would make good use of this, one day.

"The Wills explained something about tomes that would help you. It seems like the library is over here," Severus said, pointing at the doorway further down the chamber to the left side.

Harry walked through it, and was once again stumped at just how much knowledge, his family had come to possess during the centuries it had existed. There rows and rows and rows of tall, intricately carved bookcases, all crammed full of ancient tomes. Harry wished he could stop time so he could read them all right away, but he knew it was impossible. Wasn't it?

He got distracted by a feeling of something.. someone? Calling him. Following the feeling, he ran past around ten or maybe fifteen rows of bookcases, and saw another exhibition case in a dark corner.

The case itself was well lit by a magic light inside it, and featured on emerald green velvet lay a tome more ancient-looking than any of the other tomes and books on the cases in the library. On the front of the leather-bound tome was embossed 'The Book of Potters' in a beautiful font, with some sort of magical creature underneath, it looked like a stag with feathery wings and the front legs of a bird. It was beautiful. Harry opened the case by turning the knob on the front, but when he touched the embossed creature on the book, he heard a voice, that almost made him withdraw his hand in shock.

" _Finally got some company! I thought for sure that James left me in this godforsaken vault to die from the lack of magical stimulation!"_

Taken aback, Harry merely thought _"Magical stimulation? You suck magic out of people?"_

The book seemed to laugh. _"Only what I need to keep myself alive. You would never notice anything missing. Of course, I can offer so much more than the magic that I take from you, boy! How do you feel about the knowledge of ALL of your Potter predecessors, who all shared their knowledge with me about their life and their magic? I can give you all of this and more! Just keep me within reach for the time being."_

Harry thought about this for a short time. _"You must be what my parents were talking about in their Wills, they said that several tomes in this library would help me. But how do I keep you within reach at all times? I wont be allowed to carry a huge tome around with me all the time, you know."_

" _You just touch me and wish me to turn into my other form, the House Ring of the Potter Family. You wont be able to read through my pages while I'm in that form, though, but we can still have the best of conversations!"_ the book answered proudly, before continuing. _"Wait, did you say your parents' Wills? James and Lily are dead?"_

Harry thought the book sounded pained, but how could a book have any kind of personality?

"Harry, what are you doing back there?", Severus asked loudly, before rounding the last row of bookcases. Panicking, Harry once again touched the book, and it turned into an ornate ring, which he slid onto his small fingers. To his relief, the ring resized itself to fit him perfectly.

"I found the House ring that belongs to the Potters, sir. Can I bring it with me?", Harry asked.

"I don't see why not, Harry, just make sure it doesn't get stolen. Do you want me to charm it with a Notice-Me-Not Charm, like I charmed us when we entered The Leaky Cauldron? It should last much longer on an object made of metal."

Harry nodded, and so Severus did. The book kept whispering to him about all of the books he could use at his first year of Hogwarts. They ended up with more books than they could carry, so Severus transfigured one of his empty vials into a messenger bag and added a minor bottomless spell and a Featherlight Charm on it.

"Are you done with the vault, Harry?", Severus asked him when they entered the main chamber again.

"I think so, sir. It doesn't seem like there's too much else I can make use of, yet," Harry answered politely. "Do we get to go to the shops now, sir?"

"That would be a good idea, Harry. The shops are not open forever, and we spent quite a while hauling all of those books around. What do you need them all for, anyway?" Severus said, light curiosity in his voice.

"Booker told me they're more in-depth explanations for my family magic than what he provides." At Severus' surprised gaze, he quickly added: "The ring turns into a book, and he told me to call him that. Apparently my dad came up with the nickname. Isn't it cool?"

He thought he saw a grimace on the face of his companion, but it was gone before he could make sure. "Your dad was always giving people and things nicknames, whether they wanted it or not. Much to the detriment of many at the school," he said, pain not completely hidden from his face.

That made Harry think. "Did he give you a bad one, then? I mean, you know so much about both of my parents, you must've gone to school with them, at least at some point."

Severus looked at him, pain clearly written in his eyes. "We were all from the same year. I'll tell you all about it when I can be less partial, okay?" he asked.

"Okay, sir. Sorry for causing you to feel pain," Harry said, feeling bad for bringing up his parents to the older man.

"You're a good kid, Harry. You never need to feel bad for bringing them up, you weren't the one bringing me pain. It's all ghosts of the past, anyway. Just promise me that you'll never be cruel to whoever might mark you as their rival," Severus said softly.

Still feeling guilty about the pain in his elder's eyes, he replied in a voice that was almost impossible to hear: "I promise, sir."

The ride back to the surface was subdued due to the still-present pain in his companion's eyes, but Harry felt much better, when they exited the bank. The alley was almost empty of people, though all of the shops were still open. They went into 'Tattle's Trunks and Bags' to buy Harry a school bag and trunk embossed with his initials, 'Madam Malkin's Robes for All occasions' to get him fitted for his school robes, which they ordered four of.

As they passed the store named 'Magical Menagerie', Harry heard slithery voices calling out to him. He stopped so suddenly, that Severus almost bumped into him, and with a muttered "sorry, sir", he went into the big shop. He followed the voices until he came to a large terrarium sporting no less than twenty snakes! One of them even had two heads, and was slightly smaller than the rest of them.

"What's your name, names?, little one?" Harry asked the two-headed snake. He wasn't that surprised when the snake? Snakes? Looked up at him in what seemed to be rapture.

" _We don't have a name yet, ssspeaker. We are honoured to meet you, sssir. What is yoursss?"_ The strange snake answered, both heads seeming to speak in unison.

"I'm Harry Potter, but just call me Harry. What kind of snake are you? I've never seen a snake with more than one head," Harry said, curiosity written all over his face.

" _We are part runessspoor, ssspeaker. Usssually runessspoorsss have three or more headsss, but we are not of pure blood,"_ the snake answered mutedly. It strangely thought that it was worth less because of its heritage. Harry did not understand.

Having watched the whole conversation from a distance, Severus was thoroughly surprised. When Harry looked up at him curiously, he could see it written on his face plain as day.

"I didn't know you were a Parselmouth, Harry." At the boy's uncomprehending look, he continued. "The ability to speak with snakes is a very rare and wonderful gift, only a handful of people in the last two centuries are known to have the gift."

"It's really that rare? I thought most wizards could do it too," Harry said.

Eyeing the snake Harry had talked with, Severus asked "Do you want that one? First year students are normally only allowed to bring owls, cats or toads, but with the permission from me or the other Heads, you are allowed to bring pretty much any creature you fancy. So how about it?"

Harry really wanted the part-runespoor, but he didn't know if he could afford it. Sharing his worries with his future teacher, the older man just chuckled and said "Well, it should be close to your birthday, how about an early birthday gift?"

A few moments later, an ecstatic ten-year-old and a content-looking thirty-one-year-old left the menagerie, with a palm-sized runespoor in tow, currently residing in a smallish heat box. The rest of their purchases went along fine, they got Harry's first cauldron, Potion supplies, books for school, and enough "light" reading to fill up a big portion of his trunk. Harry was so glad that it had a permanent 'Wizard Space' enchantment woven into the fabric, or they would never find room for his future clothes. Severus promised to take him shopping for clothes another day, since it was getting rather late, and they still needed to get his wand.

Pausing in front of 'Ollivander's Wand Shop', Harry suddenly started to get nervous. _What if no wand chooses me? What if this has all been some mistake, and I'll be forced to live on the streets, or even worse, the Dursleys?_

The Professor sensed Harry's nervousness, and put a slender hand on the child's shoulder. "It'll be fine, Harry, you'll do fine. Do you trust me?"

Harry looked up into the eyes of the tall man, and nodded slowly. They entered the shop, which was so full of clutter and tall bookshelves filled with cardboard cases behind the cashier's table, Harry didn't even know where to start looking. The shop's owner didn't even seem to be here, so Harry started fretting again.

Suddenly, the owner appeared from between two bookcases; He was a wizened, elderly man with hair even wilder than Harry's. The owner smiled, and introduced himself as Mr. Ollivander.

"I was wondering when we were going to see you here, Mr. Potter. Seems only yesterday your parents came in to buy their first wands," the old man said.

"We're quite busy, Mr. Ollivander, so let's get straight to the point. Bring the wood and core samples, if you would, please?" Severus said tersely, but not without respect. Harry was starting to like his professor even more, Mr. Ollivander was starting to unnerve him.

"Of course, Mr. Snape, of course. If you would excuse me for a few moments," he said, as if put out by the professor's words. Maybe he liked to sound mysterious?

A couple of minutes later, he returned with an armful of cases, some filled with branches and heartwood of different kinds, others with small glass jars of different objects and what seemed to be body parts in them.

Harry was told to close his eyes and hover his right hand over the branches, and grab the one he thought felt right. Feeling a good pulse, he grabbed a piece of juniper heartwood.

"Good, very good, Mr. Potter. The juniper tree is said to hold great power, and wands made of it's heart have been known to be a great in healing and curse-breaking, as well as protection magic. Considering your history, I understand why this piece chose you," Ollivander said, a happy glint in his watery eyes. "Put it down now, and we'll get on to the core for it."

Harry did as he was told, and repeated the hovering motions over the cases with wand cores. This time, he picked up a jar filled with what looked like a light grey paste. He looked questioning at Ollivander, no doubt the man had something to say about whatever this was.

"Curious. Very curious. This core material is ground sphinx tooth soaked in the tears of a phoenix. To be honest, I thought for sure that you would get the brother-wand to You-Know-Who, since his wand was the one that gave you that scar," he said, looking directly at Harry's forehead. "Oh well, apparently the Juniper and sphinx tooth wanted you more. It so happens that I have a wand of that very combination, I made it this morning. Care to try it out?" he said, going to the back of the shop with the cases. When he came back, he had a slender, reddish-brown wand with pink flecks on it. It was intricately carved, with a handle made of green stone, which Ollivander briefly explained was serpentine.

"This is one of the best wands I've made yet. Let's see what it says," Ollivander said, handing Harry the wand. It felt incredibly light, yet sturdy in his hand. "Well, give it a wave!"

Harry waved the wand, and dozens of sparks in green, purple and blue colours came out of the tip.

"The wand chooses the wizard, Mr. Potter. It seems as if this wand chose you. I wish you good luck," Ollivander told him solemnly.

They exited the shop, Harry carrying his new wand in a black leather forearm holster on his left arm.

"Where to now, sir? We've got everything on the list," Harry said apprehensively. He really didn't want to go back to the Dursleys ever again.

Sensing Harry's agitation, Severus simply said "We're going to Hogwarts. I know that I'm robbing you of the first magical view of Hogwarts from the lake, but we need to talk to the Headmaster about the new developments in your social status, and find a place for you to stay until the first of September. No matter what, you're never going back to your relatives, those beasts are going to pay for what they did to you!" Severus seemed really angry near the end of his small tirade, which surprised Harry.

He knew the dour man at least partially cared for his well-being, but he seemed really incensed. It touched his heart, and he thought that he had found the first candidate for a sponsor.

"So how do we get there?" Harry asked, feeling as if he wouldn't like the answer.

Severus eyed him mischievously and answered "We apparate. It's like teleportation in muggle science fiction, only much more uncomfortable. Grab my arm, Harry," he said, and they disappeared with a soft pop.


	3. Chapter 3

Whew, this one had a hard time coming. I've been getting ready for my finals in October, and the de-stressing has always been a random MMORPG. Anyway, new chapter! Yay! I hope you guys like it.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters and places of the Harry Potter universe, I just like to play with other people's toys once in a while. Flamers will be used to feed my salamanders, and concritters will be used to build upon the foundation of my laughable writing skills.

Without further ado:

Chapter 3 - Of Old Castles and the Men Within

It was getting late in the afternoon. The sun was already starting to set behind the mountains to the west, so when Harry finally got over his nausea, Severus prodded him towards the gates to the grounds.

"The Headmaster should still be in his office. He's usually working until late in the night during the summer," Severus told his protégé. Harry looked up at him with an anxious expression.

"Why would he need to be told about my situation, anyway? It's not like he can do anything to change it," Harry said sullenly. "It's not like he would care."

The last sentence was spoken so softly that Severus nearly missed it. His surprise was clearly written on his face. _Trust the son of Lily and James Potter to get behind my façade in just a day,_ he thought sullenly.

"Why do you think he wouldn't care about you, Harry? The Headmaster loved your parents. They were like grandchildren to him," he told Harry. It was worrying, that the boy seemed to distrust authority figures as much as he did, but Severus supposed he shouldn't be surprised. How many times had Harry tried to tell his old school about the abuse?

"I don't wanna talk about this any more," Harry said, sighing.

Looking away, Severus heard himself say: "Well, even if you don't want to talk now, you may come to me to a later point, even if you don't get sorted into Slytherin, Harry. You can talk to me about any issues, no matter how dumb you think they are. I wont coddle you with lies and half-truths. I hope you understand that."

If he had looked at the boy, he would've noticed the blush and the surprised look the boy currently sported. "I understand, sir. Thank you."

"Don't mention it," was his only answer.

–:SSHP:-

They walked in silence until the castle came into view, and Harry had to stop to take a moment to stare at it in wonder. The castle looked like it was taken right out of the fairytale books that he'd pilfered from the garbage bin when he was younger. Dudley had never had an interest in books, much to aunt Petunia's dismay, but she'd never stopped trying.

Stopping that train of thought before it got painful, Harry shook his head ran to catch up with his dour guardian.

"It's beautiful," was all he could say.

"I imagine it was quite the sight, six centuries ago," Severus answered. "But I can see what you mean. Most wizards and witches will always remember the first time they lay eyes on Hogwarts."

The immense outer doors swung open as they approached the stairs. Harry had to take two steps at a time to keep up with Professor Snape, but he didn't really mind it. An old, stern-looking lady stood at the top of the stairs. She introduced herself as Professor McGonagall, and they shook hands briefly.

"The Headmaster is expecting the two of you in his office," she said tersely, walking towards her own office.

The trek up the stairs seemed to be endless; Harry thought himself in pretty good shape, despite the injuries that were still unhealed, but he was so out of breath when they arrived at the gargoyle, that it wasn't even funny.

The trip through Hogwarts had been quite educational – he had learned about magical portraits, and even ghosts! The ghosts were scary at first, but they seemed genuinely nice. Apparently, if you had unfinished business at your death, and you were magically powerful enough, your soul left an imprint of you to wander the world for all eternity. _Maybe there's a ghost of my parents,_ Harry dared to hope.

Harry was caught up in his own thoughts, so he didn't notice it when the professor gave the gargoyle the password, so he flinched slightly when it suddenly jumped aside to reveal an entranceway. _Oh for Pete's sake, why does everything have to be animated?_ He thought angrily. _If it continues like this, it'll be impossible to control my reactions, and people will start to notice!_

Severus gently prodded him onto the already revolving stairs, earning him another flinch. He really had to start controlling the flinching, or people would start asking questions. It was enough that the professor already knew too much about his treatment at his relatives', the whole world didn't need to know about it as well. _Oh well, here goes nothing,_ Harry thought as the door to the Headmaster's office opened.

Whatever he had expected, it wasn't the sight that greeted him; The whole office, which was quite big, was filled with hundreds of thingamajigs, in all different sizes imaginable, and they were ticking, or tooting, or giving off other weird noises and lights. Harry was instantly reminded of the one time he was taken to a fair on a school trip. Behind a grand mahogany writing desk, sitting in an ornate chair, was the oldest man he had ever seen.

To any normal pre-teen, he would've come off as harmless, maybe even grandfatherly, but there was something about the way he was staring at Harry, that unnerved him. He couldn't put his finger on it, but decided to let it go for the time being. They went to sit down in the two ornately carved high-back chairs in front of the Headmaster's desk.

Harry's train of thought was interrupted by his Professor, who simply said; "Before you say anything, Headmaster, I am well aware that students are not supposed to be at Hogwarts during the summer vacation, but I felt it prudent to inform you of Mr. Potter's current situation."

At that, Dumbledore, who had until now stared blatantly into Harry's eyes, looked into the Professor's eyes as well. He seemed disappointed about something, but Harry didn't know what.

"Of course, Severus, what is the matter?", Dumbledore said, a twinkle in his blue eyes.

"When I arrived at Privet Drive this forenoon to check up on the reasons why Mr. Potter hadn't answered his letter, I was appalled to find-", the Professor got out before he had to take a break. Harry thought he looked enraged, even though the Professor was good at hiding it. It seemed like the Headmaster noticed as well, if the widening of his smile was anything to go by. "I was appalled to find the exact circumstances Mr. Potter has been forced to grow up in. If you'll excuse my rather frank comparison, he was treated worse than a House Elf in a Pureblood household. Needless to say, I would not stand for it, and removed Mr. Potter from the situation. He will never go back there."

Dumbledore seemed to glare rather harshly at the both of them before saying; "But he has to go back, the Blood Wards I erected ten years ago are needed to keep him safe."

"With all due respect, Headmaster, there is no possible way that the boy can return there. Not only would it be morally and ethically wrong, but the Wills of his parents clearly stated that he should never go there. Due to a crafty Confundus Charm, though, the Wills were not read until today," Severus said tersely.

Dumbledore failed to hide his surprise when the Professor mentioned the Wills, and almost sputtered out the next sentence. "You read the Wills? I see. Then we must take proper safety measures. Mr. Potter can stay at Hogwarts under your care until the morning of the first of September. I must insist he takes the Hogwarts Express like all the other students, though."

–:HPSS:-

Severus nodded. "Of course, it's important to make tentative friendships before the Sorting."

Severus noticed that until now, Harry had been staring fixedly at the desk in front of them, just listening to the conversation. _How many positive encounters has Harry had with authority figures so far?,_ Severus wondered for not the first time today. He seemed completely resigned to just follow whatever plans they laid for him. It was disconcerting, at best. Severus vowed to rid the boy of the habit before the summer ended. He had over a month, anything was possible.

To say that he was surprised when the boy started speaking to the Headmaster, was an understatement, but not as much as what he said; "With all due respect, Headmaster, but it's been a very long day and I'm getting tired. Can we talk about my situation some other time?"

The boy's voice had been tentative at first, as if he had expected to be shut up right away. When he obviously wasn't, his voice got a little stronger. "Besides, I still have to feed my pet runespoor, not to mention name it."

To Severus' amusement, Dumbledore's eyebrows nearly disappeared into his hairline, when Harry mentioned his runespoor. "Of course, my boy. I'll owl you when I've made room in my schedule. I bid the both of you good evening."

Before they'd made it to the door, though, Dumbledore spoke up again; "By the way, Severus, you'll find that Hogwarts has provided your quarters with an extra room for Mr. Potter."

Severus thought that he almost sounded regretful, but nodded in answer.

The trek down to the dungeons seemed to have exhausted Harry, though, he could barely keep up with Severus' strides, even though he'd made a visible effort to slow down for the smaller boy's sake. They stopped in front of a full scale portrait of Salazar Slytherin.

"Asphodel and wormwood", Severus said loud enough for his charge to hear. The portrait swung aside, but not after eyeing Harry curiously. _No doubt they'll get along famously, once the demented old founder finds out he's a parselmouth,_ Severus thought. _Maybe the boy will even learn something._

They entered a small entrance room containing coat hangers and a stand for footwear. Straight ahead was the hallway leading further into his den, with doors to the living room, the well-stocked kitchenette as well as the lab, which led further into the storeroom connected to his classroom and office. Harry just stood there until Severus himself began shedding his outdoor clothes, slipping his feet into comfortable black slippers after taking off his cloak and black boots. Harry quickly followed suit, copying the older man, as if he wasn't sure if he was allowed to put his clothes on the rack. With a slight frown, Severus watched the tiny boy getting out of the new cloak they'd bought him earlier.

"Make yourself at home, Harry. I am sure it must be difficult for you to live with a stranger, but I am sure we will manage, okay?" Severus told the child standing next to him. Satisfied at the tired nod Harry gave him, he led him down the hallway. He opened the first door into the living room, urging Harry to enter first.

–:SSHP:-

The first thing Harry noticed when he entered his teacher's living room was how comfortable it looked. Harry wasn't stupid; he knew that the professor put up an icy and impenetrable front to people to protect himself, much as he himself had done in primary school.

The living room walls were covered with bookcases crammed with books on three of the four walls; the fourth wall, which was parallel to the one which held the door they came from, had a large limestone fireplace, which was surrounded by a sofa, two chairs as well as two end tables, one by each chair. In the corner to the right was a writer's desk made of polished oak, as well as a high-backed chair facing them, and in the corner to the left was a small oak dining table with four matching chairs. It was easy to see that only one of the chairs looked particularly worn, as if the professor mostly dined alone. This made Harry somewhat sad, he wouldn't want his saviour to live the rest of his life in solitude, and silently swore to do what he could to help.

Said saviour gave Harry a moment to take in the new room before he caught his attention; "Harry, your room is through the door to the right of the fireplace. I'm sure that there's a bathroom connected to it. The door to the left of the fireplace leads to my own bedroom. If I'm not in here or the lab, chances are I'll be in there, should you need me," he said softly to Harry.

Harry looked at professor Snape before answering with a quiet "Thank you, sir."

Harry was completely settled into his new rooms; his sparse amount of clothes had been deposited into the tasteful wardrobe closet next to the door, his school related items still in his trunk except for his Transfiguration book, which he'd placed on the small bedside desk. He almost couldn't believe that he had his own four-poster bed, he'd never had his own bed before. Even in the spare bedroom he'd briefly had at the Dursleys, he'd only had a severely punished mattress. The heat-box which held his runespoor was on his bedside desk as well, though he hadn't had a chance to speak with his two-headed snake since purchasing it. He'd have time for that after dinner.

They started eating in companionable silence. Professor Snape seemed deep in thought, and Harry held no real wish to bring him out of it. Just as they were both done eating the shepherd's pie, he looked at Harry and slowly said; "It must've been a long day for you, Harry. I know you are about ready to sleep, but I want to talk to you about what happened."

His averse reaction must've showed, because he quickly amended with "At the bank, Harry. I know that what your relatives have done to you is still too painful to talk about, it can wait for another time. As long as you do talk about it to someone."

"Oh," was the only answer Harry could give, but he knew his relief was evident on both his face and in his body language. "Well, I was really surprised about the goblins, but they seem really nice in their own way."

"How do you feel about being emancipated, then?" The professor asked, an unreadable look upon his face. "And are you satisfied with staying here for the time being?"

"I don't know how I feel about being independent. In a way, I've been so for as long as I remember," Harry answered him truthfully. Life at the Dursleys was impossible to endure without learning a few tricks, such as nicking food from the stove and the bin, and fixing broken toys with cello-tape and hiding them under his cot. "And about staying here, from where I was this morning, the day has only been getting better and better. I like it down here, it's nice and cold, and not stuffy like- like the cupboard." Damn, his voice nearly cracked at the last bit. He had to pull himself together, or Professor Snape would cart him off to the loony bin, for sure.

"I'm glad to hear that, Harry," the professor said, looking a little relieved. "I hope the room is good enough for now, or we can go shopping for furniture when we go get your new wardrobe, one of these days."

"No need to go through the trouble, sir, I like the room a lot. I don't have a lot of things, so I don't need any more shelves or wardrobes," Harry answered hurriedly, almost feeling defensive. "Besides, my old clothes wont be needed soon. I don't want to keep a reminder like that," he added wistfully, silently hoping the older wizard would understand his meaning. At seeing the pained look in his face, he knew he did. _What was that about?_ Harry wondered. _Maybe he's more like me than I thought before?_

After dinner, Harry greeted professor Snape goodnight, and soon he found himself in his bed. He reached into the heat box and took out his tiny runespoor.

" _Hello, little onesss,"_ Harry said tiredly. Spurred on by the uniformed greeting the two-headed snake sent back, he figured he would make conversation. _"Did you have a fine evening?"_

" _We did, ssspeaker. Did you find a name for each of usss, yet?"_ They asked back.

Harry hadn't really thought about it, but seeing as the snake was female, he thought about the elven names that he'd read in a book once. He'd taken the book out of the bin, as with all of his other books, and read it in secret during recess at school.

" _How about Tiitania and Sssylvanasss?"_ Harry asked, looking from the left head to the right as he said the names aloud. He hoped his pet would like them, because it seemed like he hadn't exactly inherited his father's penchant for nicknames.

The snake hissed affirmatively, their bright green eyes practically glowing with amusement at the names. After talking for about five minutes more, the runespoor slid back into the heatbox, satisfied with their owner.

Harry was just about to curl up into sleep, as he remembered the promise to Booker, about speaking with him when they had some time alone. He turned the ring back into the old tome and touched the creature embossed into the front, just like he had done earlier that same day.

" _Booker? Can you hear me?"_ Harry thought tentatively. He hoped that the old tome hadn't overexerted itself earlier, if such a thing was even possible.

" _About time, boy! I've been aching for answers ever since our talk was interrupted earlier!"_ Booker seemed to yell indignantly in his mind. Harry had the feeling they would be playing "20 questions" before he was allowed to sleep.

" _Sorry, I didn't mean to take this long. Well, at least I'm at Hogwarts and not back with my so-called relatives, or you would've had to wait until September until I had access to you again, at least if I know the Dursleys as well as I like to think I do. We were talking about my parents, right?"_ Harry thought. Booker had sounded as if he was getting a panic attack when he had shared with him the old news of their deaths. Apparently, someone not of Potter blood had moved him and gutted the rest of the house to put it into the storage vault at Gringotts.

" _That's right, little one. When did they die?"_ , Booker asked sadly.

" _Almost ten years ago. I don't even remember them. Can you tell me about them, please?"_ He hated how pathetic he sounded, but it seemed like Booker knew a lot about his parents.

Harry listened to Booker tell him all about his parents, how they were in school, who their friends were, what they were good at. Booker also told him about anima... Animagi? Apparently, being good at turning into an animal was in his blood. _I wonder when I can do that,_ he thought to himself wistfully. He would start the training as soon as possible, hoping to feel closer to his parents. His dad could turn into a white stag, which was apparently a magical type of stag, known to raise morality among friends, and they were natural leaders. His mother had been a common doe, but he thought no less of her for it. Does were known for seeing the best in people, and make others want to be better, to eradicate their faults. He felt like he was more like his mother than his father, in that regard. His father had been a bully before they had started dating. It didn't take him long to guess that professor Snape had been a prime target. His heart ached for him.

" _Booker, how does one train to become an animagi? I'd like to start right away,"_ he excitably thought at Booker. Booker seemed like an old friend already, or a great uncle.

" _You start by meditation, Harry. You need to find your core inside your body and meditate on its properties. I can imagine a muggle shrink would be able to tell you after a few conversations, but that would be the easy way out, and it will be much more worth it to find out yourself. It might take a few years to get it down properly, but the trend lately has been half a year of looking for the form."_ After being silent for a few seconds, Booker added; _"Do you need help with meditation techniques?"_ At Harry's confirmation, he went on talking; _"Okay, lad, it goes something like this..."_


End file.
